Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student

 "Leo holds a grudge, in a subtle way."

"I'm glad we're in the same class."

Nella, who was watching the match through the magic screen from the stands, stuck out her tongue while Illyana sighed.

The Summoning students, who had been worn down by Wald, were easy prey for Leo.

"Looking good! You're doing great, Brother Leo! Crush 'em all!"

"Go, Leo! Do you know how much money I bet on you?"

Chelsi, who was most angry about the mob attack, jumped up and down, and Karl, who bet on Leo aiming for a huge return, held his school uniform jacket in his hand and twirled around, cheering passionately.

“Nella.”

"Yes. Professor Hallind.”

"Summon Karl Thomas immediately. I need to find out who gave him permission to mistreat the school uniform like that."

Nella went to Karl upon hearing Professor Hallind's cold order.

As the class 5 students burst into laughter as they watched Karl being scolded by their homeroom teacher.

- “Oh! Finally, the Ace Summoners of the first-years, Wald and Eliza, are facing off!”

The magic screen suddenly focused on the leading groups.

The audience erupted into cheers as the aces of the summoning department engaged in a Head-on battle.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ 

Eliza was soaring through the sky at a rapid pace when she caught sight of a small flame that had suddenly materialized in front of her. She swiftly changed direction mid-air to investigate further.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the flame erupted with tremendous force and rapidly contracted, transforming into a massive blaze accompanied by a deafening explosion.

Witnessing this, Eliza's delicate eyebrows furrowed.

'An explosive attack using the spirits of fire and wind.'

The principle was straightforward: Use the power of a fire spirit to create a formidable flame and then employ the wind spirit to compress it, preventing its energy from dissipating in all directions. This process results in an even more potent flame that, when pushed to its limits, can be unleashed.

Issuing commands to spirits of different attributes simultaneously requires significant skill.

However, Wald was able to give simultaneous commands to spirits of different attributes, instructing one to increase their power and the other to control it.

'It's not a skill that can be done simply by being good at handling spirits.'

The explosion's principle was not solely reliant on pure spirit power but also on the manipulation of spirits through magic spells.

Eliza chuckled.

'He really deserves to be called a monster.'

Eliza was not to be underestimated, however. She was a direct descendant of the Summoning Hero family and had proven her abilities by earning second place in the Northern Exam, where she narrowly lost to the top-ranked student, Chloe.

Wald's spirit control was amazing, but Eliza also handled the griffon with movements that were almost divine.

Unlike other students who were hit by Wald's attack and fell helplessly, Eliza was able to dodge his attack without much difficulty.

"No matter how strong the attack is, it's meaningless if it doesn't hit!"

Wald chuckled at Eliza's shout.

"Then how about this? Can you avoid it?"

Eliza was surrounded by countless water droplets that began to take shape. They transformed into sharp arrows and were promptly launched towards her. 

Reacting quickly, Eliza let out a piercing scream and unleashed her spirit power.

Roarrrr!

The griffon emitted a deafening roar as it suddenly grew to 1.5 times its original size. Wald's eyes widened in astonishment at the creature's sudden transformation.

“Spirit Beast reinforcement?”

Taking a deep breath, the griffon exhaled with great force, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that effortlessly blew away all of Wald's attacks.

'So she made the griffon use its breath attack? Impressive.'

The griffon was not originally capable of using a breath attack, yet Eliza's skilled control allowed her to imbue the beast with such an ability. It was a testament to her prowess as a Summoner, as she was able to push the creature's abilities beyond their limits.

Witnessing the intense battle between two summoning aces left everyone in awe.

"Let's go!"

Chen Xia, who had been following closely behind, swiftly mounted the griffon and surged ahead, taking the lead. Having successfully dodged Wald's earlier attack, Chen Xia had been waiting patiently for an opening.

Eliza smiled when she saw Chen Xia aiming for a cheap shot.

"I won't allow that."

Whoosh!

“Hueup?”

Eliza deftly retrieved a whip from her pocket and skillfully swung it around, causing it to move like a living snake as she wrapped it around Chen Xia's neck. Meanwhile, flames began to gather in front of Chen Xia.

Thinking quickly, Chen Xia strengthened her grip on the griffon and swiftly urged it to descend, narrowly avoiding the ensuing explosion.

Dig-!

She then used the recoil to propel herself out of harm's way and tear the whip off with great force.

The griffon, having narrowly avoided the explosion, then flew in and caught Chen Xia as she fell from the air, preventing her from crashing to the ground. 

"Phew! Cough-! This is too much, Eliza."

Despite the intensity of the ongoing battle, Eliza and Chen Xia remained steadfast and showed no signs of faltering.

It was then.

Whoosh-!

Suddenly, the sound of massive wings flapping filled the air, causing Chen Xia's eyes to widen in surprise.

"A Black Wyvern?"

"You BITCHESSSSS!"

A harsh, swearing sound was then heard, drawing their attention to Sean Rio, whom they had believed to be completely eliminated from the fight.

Sean Rio was now flying towards them on the back of a small, black wyvern.

"Hey, Rio! You can't ride any spirit beast except for the griffon! It's against the rules!"

"Shut up, you bitch! Like you know about that! I kept it hidden as a trump card! Wald! Eliza! Chen Xia! I'll crush all three of you bitches at once! Screw you all!"

Kuuaaaaah!

Rio's black wyvern roared.

"How did that weakling contract a Black Wyvern?"

"That's not a Black Wyvern, it seems to be a Mutant wyvern."

Wald appeared perplexed, while Eliza narrowed her eyes, sensing that something was amiss. 

Suddenly, the black wyvern exhaled a cloud of black breath.

Kiiiaaaak!

In the distance, the distinctive roar of a griffon echoed through the air.

Huaaaaaaak-!

Suddenly, Leo appeared, flying at an incredible speed as he broke into the leading group.

“Young master Leo!”

Chen Xia greeted him with a smile and wave, to which Leo responded with a casual wave of his own.

However, as Leo's gaze shifted towards Sean Rio, he appeared surprised and blinked in confusion.

"Ha, another bitch came! I don't know how you escaped the trap, but you did a good job! Leo Flove! I'll crush you too..."

"Hey."

Leo's low voice carried an overwhelming aura that instantly filled the air.

“Where did you get that lizard from?”

His fierce, red eyes glared intently at Sean Rio and his mount, revealing a startling realization.

The creature that Sean Rio was riding on was not a wyvern or even a phantom beast.

'Fafnir.'

It was one of the ancient demon beasts used by Tartarus, which were exterminated by the Legendary heroes during the Age of Disaster long ago.

"What?"

Rio flinched under Leo's gaze.

“I asked where did you get that lizard?”

"This is my familiar that I contracted with! Are you jealous of my good familiar?"

"Familiar?"

Leo's countenance turned somber.

Referring to the creature controlled by the Demon wizard of Tartaros as phantom beasts seemed ridiculous.

Leo surveyed his surroundings.

The other students displayed only a cautious demeanor, indicating that they also regarded Fafnir as a phantom beast.

'Certainly, Fafnir wasn't there when I learned about the demon beast in Summoning Class.'

During the Age of Disaster, Fafnir was the primary beast of Tartarus, which is why Kyle and his friends intentionally subdued those monsters.

'Thanks to that, they almost went extinct at the end of the Age of Disaster.'

It wouldn't be surprising for people of this era to be unaware of Fafnir's existence if it vanished entirely due to that intervention.

'Then, this is odd. Why did a monster that went extinct long ago reappear now?'

While Leo hardened his expression, Rio put on a triumphant expression.

"Hmph! Bet you didn't expect me to sign a contract with a top-notch phantom beast, huh?”

"Rio, your summon was pretty impressive, but you lost the match. It's time to back off now. If you keep pushing, things won't end well."

"Shut up, bitch! This match had too many restrictions! It's ridiculous! I can take on all of you with my power! And I'll prove it right now!”

Kyaahh!

With its mouth agape, Fafnir rushed forward, unleashing a fiery breath.

"You can't even grasp the situation."

Eliza mocked Rio.

"Shut up! You're just a bitch who happened to be born into a good family!"

Rio clenched his teeth and redirected his focus towards Eliza.

Despite Fafnir being a creature with speed and power that exceeded that of a griffon, Rio had little control over it.

Leo expressed his displeasure by clicking his tongue as he observed Eliza's impressive evasion skills while dodging Fafnir's attacks.

'That's just like being swayed by a demon beast.'

Rio found himself unable to control Fafnir, and the powerful beast's influence was affecting his judgment.

At that moment, Chen Xia leaped from her griffon and landed on Fafnir's tail.

Despite Fafnir's nervous tail-wagging, Chen Xia maintained her balance and charged towards Rio, surrounded by a blue aura.

"Huh?"

Rio's face paled as he realized he couldn't handle Chen Xia in close combat.

Hwaak! Tuddududuk!

“What?”

Fafnir's massive wings contorted at an unnatural angle, causing them to thrash wildly in all directions. 

Chen Xia, who had been charging forward with great vigor, was caught off guard by the sudden movement and instinctively veered to avoid the flailing appendages. 

Unfortunately, this unexpected maneuver caused her to lose her balance and she tumbled to the ground.

"Ha ha ha! How is it, bitch? The power of my phantom beast!”

Rio laughed as he watched Chen Xia fall to the ground.

Her griffon descended to pick up its owner.

“Where do you think you are going!”

However, due to Rio's interference, Griffon missed the timing.

Eliza clicked her tongue and descended to catch Chen Xia, who was falling.

Fwoosh

“… … !”

However, Leo outpaced her, quickly catching up to Chen Xia, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulling her in front of him.

"Thank you, Leo!"

"Don't do something so reckless."

Leo sighed and went down again.

'So fast, what the hell did he do to the Griffon?'

Eliza narrowed her eyes as she watched Leo.

“Leo Flove!”

Rio expressed his anger.

'He is losing his sanity due to the contract with the Demon beast.'

Looking at Rio for a moment, Leo put Chen Xia on her griffon.

Wald and Eliza flew to the two of them.

"Indeed, you have the skills befitting a freshman representative," said Eliza, opening her eyes wide. "So, you pretended not to have made a contract with a spirit, but you actually contracted with a high-level spirit that possesses a protective skill?"

"You have good eyes."

“You cannot fool me, a member of the Hergin family. So, what kind of spirit did you contract with? It looks like a flame-attributed spirit?"

"That's a secret."

Leo put his index finger to his lips and smiled.

Eliza snorted at Leo's behavior.

"Well, anyway, Rio is also using a high-level phantom beast. He may not be handling it properly, but in terms of specs, it's overwhelmingly superior. So, we need to work together."

"That's not a Phantom beast."

“What do you mean?”

"That's a demon beast."